Draft County Non-Motorized Transportation Plan Update

Jefferson County is updating its Non-Motorized Transportation & Recreational Trails (NMT) Plan that was initially adopted in 2002. The 2010 Plan update will guide the County’s development of non-motorized transportation facilities and multi-purpose trails, including:

• Larry Scott Trail and the Rick Tollefson Trail


• Safe routes for walking to school


• Sidewalks in commercial areas and adequate roadway shoulders and community trails for walking in residential area


• Pedestrian and bicycle connections to transit routes


• Bicycle commuting routes


• Bicycle touring routes such as the Olympic Discovery Trail
  

Click here for additional information on the 2010 NMT Plan Update, including links to chapters of the proposed NMT Plan.

The Jefferson County Commissioners will conduct a public hearing on the Draft 2010 Non-Motorized Transportation and Recreational Trails Plan at 10:00 AM on May 17, 2010 in the Commissioners’ Chambers at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Port Townsend.

"Longest Day of Trails" walk-run-bike-a-thon June 20, 2010

The "Longest Day of Trails" walk-run-bike-a-thon event on June 20, 2010 will benefit Port Townsend and the greater Jefferson County community by raising money for a coalition of local trails organizations: the Jefferson Trails Coalition, Quimper Trails Association, and Pacific Northwest Trails Association.

The Larry Scott Memorial Trail is the venue for this event, which starts at 5:11 AM (sunrise) and ends at 9:11 PM (sunset). For more information, visit:

http://www.longestdayoftrailspt.wordpress.com/

Port Townsend featured on walkability & livability tour of Puget Sound

The 9th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference is coming up in Seattle, February 4-6, 2010.

Following is a brief statement of purpose from the conference website:

Today, more than ever, we are faced with environmental and economic challenges that will define our generation, shape our future, and test our resilience as cities, regions, states and a nation. Join leaders from across the U.S. as we tackle these challenges head-on and demonstrate solutions to curbing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing our dependence on foreign oil, creating a green economy, and building more livable, walkable, and healthier communities.

An optional pre-conference tour focusing on "Smart Growth in Small Towns" is taking place February 1-3, including a stop in Port Townsend this Wednesday. Last week, the Peninsula Daily News ran a story about this week's visit. For tour information, see the flyer PDF posted on the conference site.

The Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, Inc. recently set up shop in Port Townsend. The mission of the organization is "...to to make cities and towns throughout the world walkable, bicycle and transit friendly, livable, sustainable, socially engaging and welcoming places by improving their built form."

Executive Director Dan Burden is one of the leaders of the small town tour this week. He is well known as an expert in "walkability" and his co-leader Paul Zykofsky, part of the Center for Livable Communities program of the Local Government Commission, is recognized in the arena of "smart growth."

Port Townsend has been selected as one of the small towns in the Puget Sound that has made strides in consciously creating opportunities for "walkability."

As they get comfortable establishing the new Institute here in Port Townsend, we'll try to coax Institute staff Dan Burden and Sarah Bowman to contribute ideas to ongoing conversations on this blog.

EPILOGUE: The PDN published an article about the 2/3 tour on 2/4.

"The Transportation Prescription"

A coalition consisting of PolicyLink, Prevention Institute and Convergence Partnership has published a report entitled, The Transportation Prescription: Bold New Ideas for Healthy, Equitable Transportation Reform in America that accompanies an edited volume of detailed transportation and health policy advocacy.

The policy perspective addresses a wide variety of issues and choices in the broad field of transportation, while continually returning to public health as a focal point.

The Foreward to the report is contributed by Congressman James Oberstar, Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Congress is currently considering a successor to the current surface transportation legislation, last enacted in 2005. This legislation will directly affect the investment of billions of dollars in transportation infrastructure and programs.

“Environmental sustainability, access, and our collective well-being must combine with mobility and safety as the cornerstones of our transportation investments. The following report represents an important contribution to our emerging understanding of the connections between transportation and public health and is an invaluable resource for policymakers and all those interested in building healthy communities. With a greater recognition of the strong linkage between public health and transportation, I believe we can build a network that supports our mobility and creates access and economic strength while promoting equity, sustaining our good health and quality of life.”

Representative Jim Oberstar

Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

NJ FIT: Future in Transportation

New Jersey is developing a new program oriented toward creating greater synergy between land use and transportation, which will yield environmental and health benefits. It's called Future in Transportation.

The program was developed after an Integrated Land Use and Transportation Plan for Route 31 in Flemington, New Jersey, included a robust trip reduction program in connect with public transit. Extensive public involvement was key to the corridor planning process. The project was recognized by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) with a "Best Project Award." The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) has also offered congratulations to the New Jersey Department of Transportation for this exemplary work, and included Route 31 as a case study in its Building Community through Transportation program.

Question: While recognizing that we are in a different geographic and demographic context, can we still learn something valuable from effort on the other coast?